Juwel Filter Sponges

Setting up a new Juwel Lido tank soon (my first Juwel tank) and was wondering if anyone could recommend the optimal way to arrange the sponges in the filter.

It's a 'compact' model and I have been told to keep the fine sponges x2 at the bottom with the coarse sponges x2 at the top. On top of these I can add a pre-filter wool pad.

I was also told to basically not disturb the fine sponges at the bottom and to just maintain/rinse (in aquarium water) the coarse sponges alternating them each time. Correct?

How often is it really necessary to replace the sponges or can you just keep cleaning them indefinitely?

Anybody know where you can buy large pieces of both fine & coarse sponges that you can cut-to-size instead of shelling out Juwels inflated prices for spare sponges?

Anybody use normal filter carbon between sponges rather than the expensive Juwel carbon sponges?

Anybody use normal filter wool on top of sponges rather than the expensive Juwel pre-filter wool pads?

Thanks Guys & Gals.

Cant remember the exact order off-hand,but if you go to the Juwel website its all there.
They have the recomendations for how often to change each one.I never change them,only the white one,and a mate never changes that,just rinses it.I rinse them in tank water when the output slows down,not very often.
There are a lot of people who come up with various alternatives to the 'over-priced' originals,but the way I see it is that I spend a lot of money on th fish going into the tank,is it really worth possibly endangering them to save 2 or 3 euro on a bit of sponge??Personally I,tighter than most,just pay for the Juwel stuff,it aint that bad.
I dont usually put the carbon sponge in.Carbon will take out any medications you use,hopefully you wont need meds,and some belive that after a certain period they leach the nasties back into the water,others disagree with this.

Dave

Substituting overpriced Juwel Sponges for another sponge hardly puts fish in danger.

Why buy Juwel Sponge for 5 times the price of an alternative, why? because its pre cut to the correct size?

I used to buy sheets of greengenie pond sponge for €5- a sheet and cut it myself, it's not rocket-science.

You don't even need to stack it in the juwel filter like they say you should do, it's all a marketing gimmick.

Before I ripped my Juwel Filter out of my Rio300 I had it full of sponge cut to 1 inch cubes (to maximise surface area for bacteria) and loads of ceramic rings. It worked perfectly.

I would agree with Peter on this one. i admit i dislike jewel tanks and the reason is the filter system.
mickey

I guess endangering was not the right way of sayiong it.
I just meant I'm happy enough using the Juwel stuff,most of my Juwels have been going for 2yrs now and have never been changed,so I cant see how I would save money by buying something else to replace something that came with the tank.Each to their own I guess.

Couple of things I can take from this thread then:

(1) You don't really need to 'change' the filter sponges very often at all just cleaning them well alternately will suffice.

(2) You can use any other brand sponges (fine & coarse) and all shapes and sizes will still do the same job.

(3) Juwel internal filters don't appear to be all that well received as many people seem to rip them out and use an external. Mickey could you elaborate on why you don't like the Juwel filtration system? The pump with the Lido 120 is the 600 LPH model which I think will suffice.

Also agree about the outrageous price of Juwel accessories and spares. For example I was in a fish shop yesterday (actually I was in 3 with my eager 7 year old! Anybody see the 2 amazing Oscars in FinTastic Aquatics in Dun Laoghaire?) and a replacement Juwel filter 2 outlet nozzle set which is basically 2 pieces of plastic was priced at €12.99 Already I can clearly see that buying your supplies and accessories is only really feasable online; you literally can save 50% on the price a lot of the shops are selling at.

Since joining this forum I have posted some questions that have been answered quickly and with great knowledge. It has made me think about my original line of action and then modify/change it. Thanks to you all.

I can see that the biggest help to me keeping fish this time around is the amazing power of the internet and these type of forums to provide you with the knowledge and information you need and so quickly. You can become almost expert like by spending a few hours reading this forum and you can get all your questions answered in double quick time. Fintastic!!!

I find the Juwel filters more than adequate,in the smaller tanks they do anyways.They have quite a large media capacity compared to seperately purchased internals.I like the neatness of them,with the heater,etc all contained in a box that is easily hidden away.I dont like seeing a heater and other equipment in a tank,and the cables.I prefer a more natural approach,not liking anything artificial like ships,castles,etc,but that is just my taste,and I wouldnt knock anybody who does prefer these items.
It all comes down to personal preferences,a lot of people just cant handle the fact that you can buy something 'ready to go',they prefer to do it their way,fair play to them,thats cool.(Mickey,thats not aimed at you!)
I also(and dont want to start 'that' debate again)like to buy as much as poss from the LFS's we have.Sure,I do buy a lot of gear(although not much aquatics)online.At Hayling I got 5 Fluval 1+ for 20euro,4e each,I just couldnt pass that up!

Dave

Can fully understand the supporting of the LFS's as without them being there we would have nowhere to buy fish.

What I find it hard to accept is the MASSIVE difference in price of a lot of equipment/supplies compared to buying online. In these credit crunching days it's hard to justify paying up to 50% more for the exact same item. If some of these LFS's are being that greedy in their pricing then there's only one way to force them to reconsider!

Dont want to get into that again,we've all got our own ideas and ways,so we'll leave it at that.
You'll be gand which ever way you go with the filter media,just remember the golden rule,test the water regularly,sounds funny coming from me!

Thanks for your advice and I guess we will have to agree to disagree re the LFS v Online issue.

I do, though, agree completely with you when you say that there is a massive amount of space for both mechanical & biological media in the Juwel internal filter system giving you plenty of scope for what you want to put in there.

Only thing I would like to see is a 'next size up' pump included. For example in my case the Lido 120 is supplied with a 600 LPH pump which is fine but a 1000 LPH pump would be a lot better and improve the filtration a lot. Guess you can always buy the next size up yoursef.